Case Studies

Randolph and Baldwin

Background:

Founded in 1942, Randolph and Baldwin (R&B) mainly manufacture small sub-assemblies and major components for the Defense Industry Supply Chain.

While in the process of designing a new Internet presence/Web site for R&B, we became aware that R&B were using an obsolete inventory management system. This archaic system could no longer accommodate R&B's requirements for the management and production of their product inventory and business.

Objective:

To develop a new, open-standard, universally accessible inventory system that has new integration and productivity features while maintaining all of the original functionality in order to improve the R&B inventory management in a cost effective manner.

Solution:

ITG developed an open-standard, Web-based inventory-management system with a SQL back-end coupled together with an automated customer quotation and e-commerce payment solution for Randolph and Baldwin.

Result:

The new inventory system can be accessed 24 hours-a-day by any authorized computer connected to the Internet from anywhere in the world. The system and GUI are user-friendly and can be expanded at the will of Randolph and Baldwin.

The National Bank of Kuwait

Background:

Opened in Kuwait in 1952, the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) is the first indigenous bank in the Gulf Region and currently the largest financial institution in Middle East. Prior to ITG's involvement, NBK's IT and Marketing Departments were in disagreement on how to best re-develop NBK's Web site.

Objective:

To re-develop the NBK Web site, Internet services, and general Internet presence.

Solution:

ITG sent a small team to Kuwait to mediate the differences between the two departments. After meeting extensively with both departments and working around-the-clock for over a week, ITG's team was able to re-design and re-develop National Bank of Kuwait Web site while keeping customer interaction and satisfaction a priority.

Result:

The development of a dynamic, efficient Web site, targeting a multicultural audience, National Bank of Kuwait continued to be singled-out as the premiere banking institution in the Middle East.

Automobili Lamborghini

Background:

Automobile Lamborghini is one of the most famous exotic supercar manufacturers in the world. In 1996, Lamborghini lacked the means to cost-effectively expose and present its rich history, accolades, and awards to a global audience.

Objective:

ITG was approached to design an awe-inspiring Web site for Automobili Lamborghini that would accurately and adequately represent not just the automobiles that Automobili Lamborghini creates but the culture and lore that Automobili Lamborghini is renowned.

Solution:

ITG developed an interactive, multimedia-rich Web site that included a visual history of Automobili Lamborghini and an award-winning, interactive, display of the cockpit of a Lamborghini from the driver's perspective. It was the first Web site of its kind and beat Ferrari, Automobili Lamborghini's biggest competitor at the time-located down the same street from Automobili Lamborghini.

Result:

Not only was Automobili Lamborghini able to utilize their Web site to immediately expose, promote and communicate their company, its history and products to a worldwide audience, but the interactive experience provided visitors the perspective of sitting in the driver's seat where they could interact with functions in the car-providing a small 'taste' of what the Automobili Lamborghini ownership experience is for the masses who will never be able to own a Lamborghini. The Automobili Lamborghini Web site received worldwide press and media coverage as Automobili Lamborghini beat its number one competitor at the time, Ferrari, to market.

Winston Flowers

Background:

Winston Flowers, now in its 67th year, is the premiere florist in Massachusetts and purportedly the largest and most profitable privately-held florist in the world with over $60 million dollars in annual revenue. At the time (1998) Winston Flowers did not have a Web site nor did they see the benefit of developing one. Sales were conducted in-person at one of the Winston Flowers retail stores or over the phone.

Objective:

After two (2) years of negotiations, Winston Flowers chose to partner with ITG to try this new thing called "the Internet" in order to establish an Internet presence in order to increase their exposure and promotion and to build an online e-commerce system to increase their sales and customer convenience and satisfaction.

Solution:

ITG's design team worked with Winston's in-house Creative Director and owners to bring the personality, culture and strong visual-style of Winston Flowers retail boutiques to accurately represent Winston Flowers on the World Wide Web at WinstonFlowers.com.

Results:

Winston Flower's Web site received many honors and surpassed the original expectations of everyone involved in terms of customer feedback, sales revenue and the use of the Web-based, online catalogue as a vital sales tool. Over the past 11+ years, the Winston Flowers Web site has come to be responsible for a significant percentage of Winston Flowers annual sales.

The New England Holocaust Memorial

Background:

The New England Holocaust Memorial (NEHM) is a memorial located in the heart of Boston's tourist district dedicated to those who lost their lives in the Holocaust. The NEHM has a very unique and powerful design.

Objective:

The NEHM wanted to promote and increase awareness of the memorial in a tasteful, respectful manner.

Solution:

ITG worked with NEHM staff in developing an appropriate Web site for the NEHM. All of ITG's services which included design, programming and hosting were provided to the NEHM 'pro bono'-without any cost to the NEHM following ITG's long-standing tradition of giving back to the community by donating our services to worthy causes.

Results:

The site received an extremely large amount of traffic, acknowledgement and awards and ITG is proud to be a part of the initial project and ongoing services.

Brookline Police

Background:

Aside from the city of Boston, the Town of Brookline, Massachusetts generates more revenue from parking tickets than any other town or city in the State of Massachusetts. Prior to ITGs involvement 10+ years ago, ticket recipients were only able to pay parking tickets in person or by mail -all of these payments having to be manually entered and reconciled into the 30+ year-old mainframe system.

Objective:

The Brookline Police, who manage parking tickets for the Town of Brookline, wanted to solve the frustrating matter for all parties involved and increase efficiency while decreasing the ever-increasing cost of labor required to support the manual payment of parking tickets. ITG was approached to automate, streamline and update the Town of Brookline's parking ticket technology in order to make payments via the Internet with a major credit card possible. All of this having to be done without any out-of-pocket-expense to the Brookline Police or the Town of Brookline as there was simply no money in either organizations budget for a new parking ticket payment system.

Solution:

ITG developed a comprehensive, Web-based parking ticket payment system for the Town of Brookline. ITG was able to successfully develop a customized, Web-based ticket payment system that was able to successfully interact with the existing mainframe infrastructure while accepting ticket payments made with a credit card.

Results:

This new solution was incredibly successful, immediately enabling the payment of parking tickets online and with a major credit card, and all of it at a total cost to the Town of Brookline and the Brookline Police of $0.

MBTA

Background:

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is the public operator of most bus, subway, commuter rail and ferry systems in the greater Boston, Massachusetts, area. Prior to ITG's involvement with the MBTA pass program(s), transit passes were sold under different programs for different amounts and with different restrictions so that the same transit pass purchased by phone or mail would cost a different amount and be received at different dates each month.

Objective:

As an existing technology partner of the MBTA's since 1996, ITG won the bid to provide transit passes for sale on the Internet via the MBTA's Web site and at the same time bring all of the T pass programs into alignment.

Solution:

ITG developed a back-end architecture to interface with the MBTA Revenue Department's 30-year-old mainframe system. By managing the purchase of all three pass sales programs: pass-by-mail, pass-by-phone and pass-by-Internet, ITG was able to streamline the order, processing, fulfillment and return processes.

Results:

The MBTA was the first transit authority in North America to offer transit pass sales via the Internet. Thousands of orders coming from different parts of the world are processed monthly-at the same time/cut-off date and for the same price. Approximately half-a-million-dollars worth of T-passes are transacted each month.

Expert Central

Background:

In 2001, two Harvard MBA graduates realized that there's been no easy way for an Internet user to locate the correct human expert to seek advice. Together, they came up an idea to build an interactive, real time, Web-based solution where experts could exchange advice with non-experts/laymans for free or for a fee. Except for this conceptual piece, the business process, methodology or reality of how to develop such a solution was unknown.

Objective:

The two graduates wanted to translate their idea into an online reality. They approached ITG to design the business procedures and to develop and implement the complete system and to do so in 6 months.

Solution:

In 6 months working three-shifts, around the clock, ITG built a 1.5 terabyte Oracle database system that was the basis of the entire transaction solution. ITG developed the business process and business flow. We provided recommendations and specified all hardware and software requirements.

Results:

The ExpertCentral.com become a fully operational, dynamic, and highly interactive Web site. Shortly after the launch of the site, 150,000 users and 5000 experts were registered and ExpertCentral was bought by About.com for $37.5 million dollars.

Cable and Wireless

Background:

Cable & Wireless Worldwide is a global telecommunications conglomerate providing communication networks and services to large corporations, governments, carrier customers and resellers all over the world. It is the only telecommunication company providing telephone and Internet services on the island of Anguilla in the British West Indies.

Objective:

In 1995, Cable & Wireless wanted to provide high quality Internet access to the tourists and natives of Anguilla. Lacking local experience in starting or operating an Internet Service Provider (ISP) Cable & Wireless contracted ITG to assist them in establishing a complete ISP solution on the island.

Solution:

ITG developed a comprehensive implementation and operation plan to create a successful ISP on the island of Anguilla on behalf of Cable & Wireless. In addition to the plan, ITG specified the hardware and software, had the equipment palletized and chartered a cargo plane to deliver the equipment to the island where ITG technicians and Systems Administrators set-up the entire ISP operation from scratch including the training of Cable & Wireless staff.

Results:

The island of Anguilla was one of the first islands in the British West Indies to offer high speed Internet access which it continues to provide today.

Herb Chambers Companies

Background:

The Herb Chambers Companies, comprised of 48 franchises, is one of the largest dealership groups in United States. Out of a long list of improvements and efficiencies that ITG developed and implemented as part of our 15 year partnership with the Herb Chambers Companies, perhaps the contribution that we are most proud of and that had the greatest impact on the dealership chain was the implementation of an automated, Web-based inventory database system for pre-owned vehicles.

Early on in the dealership chains history, one of the biggest customer benefits and differentiating factors the dealerships offered was the ability for a customer to purchase any used car in the collective, combined dealerships' inventory from any dealership location.

The issue was that there was no database keeping each dealership's inventory current-each dealership receiving a daily report via fax containing that dealership's inventory that was outdated upon its receipt.

Combine this with the fact that each dealership was paying between $12 and $14 to have a window sticker custom-made for each used car they took into their inventory as required by law and the process of maintaining and managing the dealerships pre-owned inventory stood out as being very cumbersome and riddled with profit-robbing inefficiencies.

Back in the year 1998, the way they sold used car was that customers could buy any car from any dealership from any inventory. The car managers had to fax each other the inventory list every day. It was inconvenient and inaccurate since the inventory changed throughout the day. Another problem was that they were paying $12-$14 per used car for a window sticker that contained certain specific and details by law.

Objective:

In 1996, in an effort to prove that the Internet was the greatest efficiency tool for the sale of automobiles since radio and TV, ITG proposed an unsolicited, first-of-its-kind solution to a problem the Herb Chambers Companies were not even aware that they had.

Solution:

ITG built a searchable, online database containing all of each dealerships pre-owned inventory. This Web-based database was managed internally by the pre-owned car manager of each dealership. An additional benefit of providing up-to-date, accurate, inventories of each dealerships online, accessible 24/7 to the entire Internet audience, was that at the instant a car is added to the database, a pre-formatted, color window sticker is printed-eliminating the $12 - $14 cost per pre-owned car taken into inventory.

Results:

The results from the implementation of the Herb Chambers Web site and with it the first-of-its-kind pre-owned car database were immediate and significant. Now, visitors and potential customers from anywhere in the world were able to locate their preferred, pre-owned vehicle via the Herb Chambers Companies Web site and gather information with ease at any time in the day. The automated window stickers printing process also saved the Herb Chambers Companies approximately $40,000+ each month moving forward.